As alternative fueled vehicles, such as hybrid electric vehicles, become more and more popular with the consuming public because of their reduced emissions and more efficient use of energy compared to vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels, there will be an increased demand for tracking the powering of vehicles when they are only using the alternative, non-emission based fuel or power, like electricity. Owners of alternative fueled vehicles, like Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), will soon be eligible for government and industry generated money credits that will be derived from Carbon Gas Reduction Legislation, such as Carbon Taxes or Carbon Credits.
Complete alternative fueled vehicles, which refers to vehicles that do not use any type of fossil based fuels for power like hydrogen powered or pure electric vehicles, as of this writing, are still in the design phase and are not available to the consuming public. Meanwhile, hybrid vehicles such as PHEVs, which can be powered by both fossil fuels and alternative energy like electricity, are available to consumers for immediate use.
One of the problems with hybrid vehicles, like PHEVs, is the ability to track their use when they are powered only by the alternative energy source, like electricity. Since the owner of a hybrid vehicle, in most cases, will have the choice or option to power the hybrid vehicle by either a fossil based fuel or an alternative energy source, then a need exists in the art to develop a method and system which can accurately track the time or distance driven when powered completely by an alternative energy source so that the hybrid owner is provided with a monetary incentive to power the hybrid vehicle more often with the alternative energy source compared to powering the vehicle with fossil fuel.
Another problem with tracking alternative energy consumption of a hybrid vehicle is that the total alternative energy consumed should not be the only metric tracked to provide incentives for the hybrid vehicle owner. For example, if only the total alternative energy consumed by an hybrid vehicle was tracked, then aggressive drivers of hybrid vehicles would be rewarded for inefficient use of the alternative energy. In other words, aggressive drivers who accelerate their hybrid vehicles too rapidly or who drive their electric vehicles at very high speeds would likely consume significantly more alternative energy compared to the conservative hybrid vehicle driver who drives slowly and accelerates the hybrid vehicle at a reasonable rate. Therefore, another need exists in the art for tracking alternative energy consumption of hybrid vehicles in such a way that reasonable or efficient use of the alternative energy is rewarded more than inefficient use of the alternative energy.
Another problem with hybrid vehicles, and particularly PHEVs, is that many hybrid owners will have the option to upload excess energy from their vehicles that can be transferred back to the electric power grid. In other words, for those hybrid vehicles which have more electrical power than maybe needed by a driver for a particular day, such excess power may be sold by the driver back to the electric power grid. Alternatively, the excess electric power in an electric vehicle may be “siphoned off” by the electric vehicle while it is parked according to an energy exchange program that the driver of the electric vehicle may be participating in.
Such selling of excess alternative energy by the hybrid vehicle owner so that the owner may make more money with the excess energy that is sold should not be encouraged since there is a risk that the hybrid vehicle owner will power the vehicle on fossil fuel only when the owner can make more money by selling the excess alternative energy. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system which tracks vehicle to grid (V2G) uploads of energy and that will reduce the value of any energy credits that the owner may have earned through efficient use of the alternative energy.
Another problem exists in the art for tracking the amount of use of the hybrid vehicle when it is only powered by the alternative fuel. A need exists in the art for providing a system and method which tracks this use that cannot be altered or misused by a hybrid vehicle owner. A further need exists in the art for a method and system which can track alternative energy consumption where the value awarded for their alternative energy consumption may become part of the intrinsic value of the hybrid vehicle.